Screened as part of NZIFF 2017

Hotel Salvation 2016

Mukti Bhawan

Directed by Shubhashish Bhutiani

In this gentle comedy of family ties from India an old man, convinced by a dream that he is about to die, obliges his office-workaholic son to accompany him to the holy city of Varanasi.

India In Hindi with English subtitles
99 minutes CinemaScope / DCP

Rent

Director/Screenplay

Producers

Sanjay Bhutiani
,
Sajida Sharma
,
Shubhashish Bhutiani

Photography

Michael Mcsweeney
,
David Huwiler

Editor

Manas Mittal

Production designer

Avyakta Kapur

Costume designer

Shruti Weditwar

Music

Tajdar Junaid

With

Adil Hussain (Rajiv)
,
Lalit Behl (Daya)
,
Geetanjali Kulkarni (Lata)
,
Palomi Ghosh (Sunita)
,
Navnindra Behl (Vimla)
,
Anil K. Rastogi (Mishraji)

Festivals

Venice
,
Busan 2016; San Francisco
,
Sydney 2017

Elsewhere

This Hindi comedy set in a Varanasi hotel where the faithful prepare to die addresses issues of tradition and modernity, life and death and family ties with gentle good humour. An ominous dream has convinced 77-year-old Dayanand Kumar that his end is drawing near, though no one else in the family can see any reason why the healthy old man should believe this. Nonetheless his middle-aged son Rajiv feels duty bound to set aside his important job, leave behind his wife and daughter and accompany his father to the holy city.

Two weeks is the stipulated maximum stay at the dilapidated Hotel Salvation, but as the old man engages with the other guests it becomes clear that several of them have been in residence much longer. As the days become weeks the harried Rajiv is forced to reckon with his father and the power of tradition as he never has before. At 25 years old himself, director Shubhashish Bhutiani adds a millennial bounce to his wry observation of generational difference through uptight Rajiv’s generous, life-embracing daughter.

“The film humorously illustrates the traditional Hindi philosophy of death and freedom from entrapment and attachment, but in such a low-key way it’s never a burden. Though the film has many elements that bring to mind the Indian retirement haven of Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel, Bhutiani’s take on the subject is embedded in Indian culture and Hindu rituals... The humor is whisper-soft, taking the edge off potential morbidity... Though the acting is low-key, it’s full of warmth and tenderness that involves the audience in the shared joy, worry and grief of an identifiable family.” — Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter